Kiana and Cecilia's backs began to distort, and the surrounding scene turned pitch-black. Sirin gritted her teeth as she stared at the screen showing Siegfried and Cecilia.
Because the feather refused to cooperate, Sirin did not get her wish.
Looking at this beautiful scene before her, Sirin could not help but fall into thought.
"A normal, happy family..."
"If I had never encountered the Honkai, if Mom hadn't died..."
"Could I have had this kind of happiness too?"
"Sirin looks so pitiful. Miss Fairy really wants to hug her." Elysia's heart ached for her.
The Sirin Elysia had been thinking about was currently in Cecilia's arms.
As Kiana's family, along with Theresa, celebrated Kiana's sixteenth birthday, Sirin's emotions shattered beneath that cheerful, happy atmosphere as she hid in the shadows.
"I'll definitely destroy your happiness!"
Sirin tightly gripped the Feather of the Wind and glared fiercely at the screen before her. Yet when she saw the smile on Kiana's face, even though she knew it was an illusion, she could not stop the bitterness in her heart.
"...Birthday cake... It reminds me of Mom..."
The stunned look on Sirin's face and the loneliness in her eyes made people ache for her.
The audience, who had been smiling at Kiana's family's warmth, fell silent again upon seeing Sirin's dejection.
A dull blade cutting through flesh hurt far more than a sharp one.
"Sirin is only a sixteen-year-old girl too..." Sakura sighed. She was only about the same age as Sakura's younger sister.
The plot's progression and the terror of the Herrscher had made everyone forget Sirin's age. If not for Schicksal's deception, if not for those horrifying experiments, Sirin would only have been a sixteen-year-old girl longing for her mother and longing to be loved.
"The more I think about it, the angrier I get. It's all those Schicksal researchers' fault!" Kitty clenched her fists indignantly.
"Hmph!"
Kalpas's cold snort made everyone jump, afraid that he would smash off the other armrest too.
"You wrote your niece like this. Aren't you afraid she'll make a fuss and cry again when you go back?" Vill-V gave Yaqing a strange look.
"Probably... not." Yaqing suddenly recalled how, when they were little, he had taken both nieces out shopping, one in each hand. At McDonald's, one had lain on the floor crying and throwing a tantrum, while the other had only stomped her feet and refused to leave.
As if possessed, Sirin used a feather from the Feather of the Wind to disguise her Herrscher feather outfit as a black sailor uniform, then came to the door of Kiana's family home within the illusion.
"Who are you?"
Siegfried opened the door and looked at the girl outside, asking about her purpose in confusion. Sirin did not exist in his memories.
Just as Sirin was about to directly destroy this "boring" illusion, Cecilia's dissatisfied voice came from inside. She wondered if Siegfried had drunk too much, to the point that he could not even recognize his other daughter.
"Come, Sirin. This is Kiana's birthday cake."
"I saved a piece especially for you."
As Cecilia brought over a slice of birthday cake, all the malice in Sirin's heart was utterly destroyed by Cecilia's gentleness. She felt a warmth she had not known for a long time, and for a moment, she was like a wronged little beast.
Sirin used her fork to bring a small piece of cake to her mouth. The cake was very sweet, but a tear silently rolled down her lovely face. It reminded her of her mother. The first time she had eaten cake, it had tasted just like this.
"It's getting late."
"Get some rest early, Sirin."
Cecilia stroked Sirin's little head.
Under Cecilia's gentle assault, Sirin could no longer hold herself together. She could only wipe away her tears with her arm, refusing to let them fall onto the floor.
"Mom..."
Feeling wronged was one of the emotions people could empathize with most easily.
And when paired with the blade of family affection, every strike was a critical hit.
Sirin, deeply moved, lay in Cecilia's arms and softly said, "Mom, I want cake."
"Buy one. I'll have Siegfried go get one right now!" Cecilia glanced at Siegfried.
Having received his wife's command, Siegfried no longer cared about the movie. He hurriedly got up and jogged outside, calling his assistant to order a huge cake while he went to pick it up himself.
A shadow cast by the lights appeared before a bedroom door with a purple cartoon plaque reading "Sirin." Siegfried's muttering could be heard as he paused for a while before silently leaving.
"I remember now. This is Sirin's room."
"Sirin is Cecilia's and my second daughter. I must have drunk too much. How could I not recognize even her..."
"So Sirin is Mom's daughter in the story too. Too bad it's only an illusion..." Kiana could not bear to see those around her suffer, even her second sister, whom she did not get along with. Perhaps that was kindness.
"Yaqing wrote Schicksal like this. Is he really not afraid Grandpa will come after him?"
The more miserable Sirin became, the more people empathized with her, and the more hateful Schicksal in the story became. Theresa had thought of this point. After all, the plot Yaqing had written was already practically slander.
"I want to know too." Bronya sighed. She truly could not understand Yaqing Schariac. As a Schicksal director, he used Schicksal's resources and Schicksal's company to create Anti-Entropy, an organization that fought for humanity?
Was this a plot a normal person could come up with?
Inside the room, Sirin lay on the bed, reflecting on why. Why, even though she knew they were not her parents, could she still not bring herself to kill them?
Just as Sirin's gaze turned fierce once more—
"Sirin, don't be angry anymore. Your father just drank too much today."
Cecilia sat beside Sirin, gently patting her back in an extremely tender tone.
"I'm sorry. We've been busy preparing Kiana's birthday these past two days and made you feel lonely."
Cecilia hugged Sirin from behind.
"Tonight, let Mommy hold you while we sleep."
That warm embrace made Sirin sink into it once more despite herself.
The next day, Sirin threw back the covers and was shocked that she had actually fallen asleep the night before—and slept so soundly. Ever since those experiments, she had never slept like that.
"Come on, Sirin, breakfast is ready~"
Cecilia carried in the prepared breakfast and pushed open the door. As Sirin ate her sandwich, Cecilia suddenly asked her to go shopping with her. Sirin froze.
A few days later, exhausted Siegfried finished a day of work. On his way home, he passed by a convenience store and saw the Ahalato collaboration chocolates on the shelf, remembering that Sirin and the others liked this flavor.
"Who are you?"
"I think I've seen you before."
The chocolate in Siegfried's hand turned into data and vanished, as did the surrounding scene. The man before him was Walter Yang, whose consciousness was bound to Sirin's.
"Siegfried, your life is so happy and complete."
"To you, is this a beautiful dream or a nightmare? Open your eyes and see which side is the reality you are meant to protect."
Siegfried reached out. "Wait, who exactly are you?!"
When Siegfried opened his eyes again, he was back in the convenience store, leaning against the shelves, with that chocolate at his feet.
"Walter is still in C!" Kiana said in surprise.
"This time, he won't die, right?" Theresa asked oddly.
"Hard to say." Himeko said hazily.
"That's my doll." Bella pointed at the plush toy beside Sirin's bed. Even within the illusion, Bella was by Sirin's side.
"That doll is so cute!" Sirin's golden eyes turned into stars as she looked at Cecilia and asked, "Mom, is that stinky uncle planning to sell merchandise? Can I... can I..."
Sirin suddenly became too embarrassed to continue.
No one understood a daughter better than her mother. Cecilia naturally understood what Sirin meant. Stroking her smooth purple hair, she smiled and said, "Then you'll have to go ask your uncle yourself."
"Mm..."
Cecilia and Sirin happily shopped around the mall, while Siegfried followed behind them carrying a huge pile of bags with a dead look in his eyes, perfectly matching his real-life character. Sirin had originally been very quiet, but when Cecilia handed her an ice cream and she took a big bite, her mood finally brightened.
After shopping all day, Sirin and Cecilia were very excited, but Siegfried felt like he was about to die from exhaustion. Only when he saw his wife and daughter enter a clothing store did he feel that he could finally rest for a while.
Sirin happily showed Cecilia her fashion show, seemingly forgetting her purpose had been to destroy their happiness. Only when Cecilia said she wanted to hug Sirin did she remember it a little.
"Don't hug me. I don't want to be held."
"Hehe, I get it. You're shy, aren't you?"
As Sirin turned around, Cecilia revealed an indescribable expression.
Siegfried, slumped on a semicircular bench in the mall, suddenly recalled the strange man he had encountered in the convenience store a few days earlier. What exactly did he mean by "the reality you should protect"?
"What am I thinking..." Siegfried mocked himself with a smile. "I'm content to have such a happy, complete family."
"Even if the real world is being destroyed step by step?"
Walter Yang appeared before Siegfried once again.
Just as Siegfried was about to ask who he was, the scene around him suddenly began glitching, flickering between the warm-toned mall and cold-toned burning tundra.
"Siegfried, every second you remain here puts reality in greater danger."
"Or are you planning to give up fighting and drown in this false dream?"
Walter's forceful voice echoed by Siegfried's ear. When he looked at his right hand, it had transformed into a Honkai Beast form again. Beneath his cold blue eyes, just as Siegfried was about to understand, a massive explosion interrupted him.
Bang!!!
The huge floor-to-ceiling window behind Siegfried suddenly shattered under the explosion, and he instinctively covered his head and dropped to the ground.
Elsewhere, facing the shattered glass raining down from the dome, Sirin was so confident in her Herrscher powers that she disdained to dodge. But when she heard Cecilia call out, she froze.
She saw Cecilia disregard the cuts already on her face and shield her in her arms, softly comforting her by the ear, "Don't be afraid. Mommy will protect you."
"Ich liebe dich, Sirin."
At the hospital, Siegfried listened as the doctor analyzed the injuries of his wife and daughters. Cecilia and Sirin sat on chairs in the corridor. Leaning against Cecilia, Sirin unwillingly clenched her fists.
"Once again, she held me."
"Why is her embrace always so warm? Why does it make me feel so safe..."
"Mom..."
"Cecilia is such a gentle person. She can even move a Herrscher. I really, really, really want to meet her!" Elysia clasped her hands together and rubbed them excitedly.
Mobius could not even be bothered to mock her anymore.
"If Cecilia really manages to reform Sirin, the story will be ruined." Su analyzed the story's direction rationally.
Su was not wrong. There were plenty of movies that forcibly ended in a grand reunion these days, and most of them got cursed out horribly.
"How would that ruin it~?" Elysia said. "Don't you want them to continue living happy, wonderful lives? What I hate most are tragedies!"
Yaqing silently looked away and "seriously" admired the movie.
Mobius, who had been watching Yaqing's expression all along, understood instantly.
Before you continue